"Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops, like bishops, and your religious act like religious." - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, 1972

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

POPE: NO LEADERS FOR LIFE

"...it is tempting for leaders – and I repeat, I prefer the term servants, who serve -; and this temptation for the servants is of the devil, the temptation to believe that they are indispensable, whatever the position. The devil leads them to want to be the ones who command, those that are at the heart and so, step by step, they slide into authoritarianism, glorifying a single leader (“personalismo”), and leaving no living communities renewed in the Spirit. This temptation makes “everlasting” the position of those who consider themselves in an irreplaceable position that always has some kind of power or dominate over others."

While he might have been speaking to a group from the Charismatic Renewal, Pope Francis is addressing the danger of a "cult of personality" throughout the Church, and specifically within lay-run organizations and movements. This is because those groups are not subject to the normal controls of the Church as regards its authority over the clergy and religious.

The Pope goes on to say that these groups should NOT have leaders "for life". Here he was not speaking to the Charismatic Renewal which has an elected and rotating leadership. Here he was speaking to Kiko Arguello. Kiko (along with Carmen Hernandez) is the only leader of any lay movement of consequence who has been officially designated as "leader for life":

§ 1. The International Responsible Team of the Way is, for their natural life, composed of Mr. Kiko Argüello – who is its responsible – and Miss Carmen Hernández, initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way, and the presbyter Rev. Mario Pezzi of the diocesan clergy of Rome.

The good news is that the leadership of the Way, after the death of both initiators, is a prescription for a power struggle disaster and a recipe for the gradual if not sudden implosion of the Neocatechumenal Way. But then so go all cults which glorify "personalismo."

5 comments:

You need not look further than the right of Junglewatch to see Kiko in action. If you have the time to view this piece you will see Kiko disjointed. Pure peacock and has no respect for Pope Francis. Chuck you piece accurately portrays Kiko, he has had absolute power for so long that he is now thinking he has achieved the stature of pope for the Way.

You're right, Neo-Free. The hierarchal setup for the NCW is Neo members, Responsibles, Catechists, Kiko. For us, the setup is the Faithful, Parish Priests, Bishops, Pope. I wonder if the next step for Kiko is to usurp the Papacy. Then we will have (instead of One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church) One, Catechumenal, Evangelical and Kikoitical Church.

He is indeed the Neo pope, Apuron's pope, the one he owes total alliance and commitment to. Pius is Apuron's archbishop, his catechist. Our Archbishop, is just bro tony to his brethrens, for someone who risked everything for the red hat, why would he stoop so low as to be only bro tony. It may be the sacrifice he has to endure to "earn" the red cap, Damm, it didn't work, and lost everything in the end, your reputation, your former flock, everything. Was it worth it???????

While he may have lost any shred of respect. in his time as "servant" he has amassed a huge fortune for a man who once took a vow of poverty.

Red hat would have been nice, but only because more money comes from that. His goal was never to serve, but to gather as much mammon as possible.

Sick reality is that this "leader" has been robbing us blind for longer than we know. Good news is that he wasn't able to hide his crimes from the one person that matters. Let's hope he repents and makes restitution before his skull paves a very fiery place.